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Ryan Manalac

I posted this on the pay board but IMHO (and I am humble) it is worthy of being reposted here.

I love the hire.

"Yes", I know the family so I am biased to a degree. But I also know that Ryan overachieved everywhere he has been. Because he is young and from Central Ohio he is known and admired by the coaching community there from his days in Westerville to UC and beyond. He will be able to recruit talent rich central Ohio far better than Harley (who while he had an OSU pedigree was not connected there).

I want a guy on the rise...he can grow here and if he is as good as he has been at other parts of his professional life, he can stay here and prosper as he rises.

On a personal note, his Dad was the losing pitcher in the 1972 Steubenville Little League championship game. Steve, you pitched your heart out that day (as you always did) but the Angels ruled the diamond!
 
I have no idea if he can coach or recruit, but it looks like he never coached a game at Bucknell. They basically hired Ohio Dominican's DC (whoever the hell that is).
 
I have no idea if he can coach or recruit, but it looks like he never coached a game at Bucknell. They basically hired Ohio Dominican's DC (whoever the hell that is).

He was hired in February 2019 so he would've coached the 2019 season for Bucknell.

Obviously as a small school coach, it's hard to know what he'll bring. I will say I like taking a shot on fast risers with positional coaches. Guys who've coached under good minds at multiple schools looking to move up the food chain. Hopefully Manalac fits the bill and develops into a strong recruiter.
 
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I have no idea if he can coach or recruit, but it looks like he never coached a game at Bucknell. They basically hired Ohio Dominican's DC (whoever the hell that is).
I think he was the DC on the 2019 Bucknell team that went 3-8. Although I think that was a down year in general for the Patriot League; the team did appear competitive in conference games going .500.
 
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He was hired in February 2019 so he would've coached the 2019 season for Bucknell.

Obviously as a small school coach, it's hard to know what he'll bring. I will say I like taking a shot on fast risers with positional coaches. Guys who've coached under good minds at multiple schools looking to move up the food chain. Hopefully Manalac fits the bill and develops into a strong recruiter.

My bad there, years are morphing together....
 
I feel better about the LB's with Bates here but seems for sure this position coach not real high on the hierarchy with this staff.
No clue about this guy but saw little from Harley (who was also an up and coming rock star who knew Narduzzi's system etc).
 
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Ohio Dominican is in Columbus.


One thing that he has working in his favor is
a returning LB'r group that is talented and
experienced......Campbell, Bright, Davis. Those
are three starters, and Sirvocea was only
All ACC (third team). How do you keep him
off the field? There's also frosh and subs
moving up. This IMO is now a team strength.
Hell, I could coach that group LOL
 
One thing that he has working in his favor is
a returning LB'r group that is talented and
experienced......Campbell, Bright, Davis. Those
are three starters, and Sirvocea was only
All ACC (third team). How do you keep him
off the field? There's also frosh and subs
moving up. This IMO is now a team strength.
Hell, I could coach that group LOL
I think it is the weakest unit of the defense, has the least depth.
 
Pitt doesn't care about football, let's be real , I use to have so much passion but I check on this board once a week and go to 1 game a year, it's kind of a phasing out thing. I use to drive 9 hours each week to see them play but reality finally hit , finally! I don't blame Pitt, but I'm not caring as much when they don't, it's fine for real. Still root for them
 
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I like the hire. Connections in Ohio are always a plus since TOSU and UC can’t get everybody.Keep in mind also that Bates was a long time linebackers coach so he will help a lot and more importantly this hire will be a cheap a
hire that frees up more money to retain Partridge and and young recruiters like Beatty , Sanders And Collins. Couple that with veteran coaches like Duzz, Powell, Whip , Salem , Borbs and Randy Bates so we have a nice blend of experience and hungry coaches,
 
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I think it is the weakest unit of the defense, has the least depth.


I went and looked at the roster. Above I mentioned
three returning starters. Following those three are
Sirvocea, Pine, and George. That's six with experience,
and I'm pretty sure all six have different degrees of
starting experience. That's not bad for a returning
two deep. There's also DeShields and Kamara returning.
Add in the frosh and it looks to me to have not only
talent and experience, but also depth.
 
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Pitt doesn't care about football, let's be real , I use to have so much passion but I check on this board once a week and go to 1 game a year, it's kind of a phasing out thing. I use to drive 9 hours each week to see them play but reality finally hit , finally! I don't blame Pitt, but I'm not caring as much when they don't, it's fine for real. Still root for them

Pretty soon you'll be able to say you "use" to root for them.
 
Pitt doesn't care about football, let's be real , I use to have so much passion but I check on this board once a week and go to 1 game a year, it's kind of a phasing out thing. I use to drive 9 hours each week to see them play but reality finally hit , finally! I don't blame Pitt, but I'm not caring as much when they don't, it's fine for real. Still root for them
Thanks for sharing.
 
I went and looked at the roster. Above I mentioned
three returning starters. Following those three are
Sirvocea, Pine, and George. That's six with experience,
and I'm pretty sure all six have different degrees of
starting experience. That's not bad for a returning
two deep. There's also DeShields and Kamara returning.
Add in the frosh and it looks to me to have not only
talent and experience, but also depth.
Davis, Bright, Campbell, Dennis and Pine look good to very good on paper.

Davis is coming of injury, he hadn’t played much before it. He is not a proven player.. I thought George was disappointing. Petrishen played some, didn’t see much from him.

Both Bright and Campbell appeared less impactful than the year before. Dennis, inexplicably, was invisible in our last game.

Kamara played special teams and looked good.

Roberts did not play? . Deshields was shifted to receiver?

Who are the freshmen linebackers? Lavant? Is Brown a LB?

Not saying it is a bad unit. I just like the DL and the DBs better.
 
Pitt doesn't care about football, let's be real , I use to have so much passion but I check on this board once a week and go to 1 game a year, it's kind of a phasing out thing. I use to drive 9 hours each week to see them play but reality finally hit , finally! I don't blame Pitt, but I'm not caring as much when they don't, it's fine for real. Still root for them
Thanks for sharing.
 
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Davis, Bright, Campbell, Dennis and Pine look good to very good on paper.

Davis is coming of injury, he hadn’t played much before it. He is not a proven player.. I thought George was disappointing. Petrishen played some, didn’t see much from him.

Both Bright and Campbell appeared less impactful than the year before. Dennis, inexplicably, was invisible in our last game.

Kamara played special teams and looked good.

Roberts did not play? . Deshields was shifted to receiver?

Who are the freshmen linebackers? Lavant? Is Brown a LB?

Not saying it is a bad unit. I just like the DL and the DBs better.


No problem, we disagree somewhat.
I like the Lb'r crew. I also like the D Line crew.
DB's...big question mark in my mind.
Either way, we'll see next season.
 
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Pitt doesn't care about football, let's be real , I use to have so much passion but I check on this board once a week and go to 1 game a year, it's kind of a phasing out thing. I use to drive 9 hours each week to see them play but reality finally hit , finally! I don't blame Pitt, but I'm not caring as much when they don't, it's fine for real. Still root for them
Pitt is in the 30-40 range of football programs in the country. It isn’t a coincidence that the schools that are usually in the Top 10 also receive the most financial support from their alumni.
 
Pitt is in the 30-40 range of football programs in the country. It isn’t a coincidence that the schools that are usually in the Top 10 also receive the most financial support from their alumni.

Not always a guarantee. Look at Tennessee and USC, for a short list. Pitt is getting more support from the school than ever but it takes time to rebuild a donor base.
 
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Not always a guarantee. Look at Tennessee and USC, for a short list. Pitt is getting more support from the school than ever but it takes time to rebuild a donor base.
Correct - our alumni support is on par with BC and WF. The universities that receive a ton of support from their alums are the ones that should receive the most criticism. Schools like Tennessee should not be floundering so badly.
 
I like the hire. Connections in Ohio are always a plus since TOSU and UC can’t get everybody.Keep in mind also that Bates was a long time linebackers coach so he will help a lot and more importantly this hire will be a cheap a
hire that frees up more money to retain Partridge and and young recruiters like Beatty , Sanders And Collins. Couple that with veteran coaches like Duzz, Powell, Whip , Salem , Borbs and Randy Bates so we have a nice blend of experience and hungry coaches,
We should be able to beat out Cincy for players we prioritize. They are still G5.

You definitely need diversity on the staff so hopefully this does free up some money.
Cough, new OC, cough.
 
The new LB coach, was the DC at Buckneil

Welcome aboard to Ryan ...... hopefully he is a fast riser among coaches and does a great job at Pitt but right now, I'm in a wait and see mode ......

Here is Ryan Manalac's coaching career to date .....
- Michigan State - Video intern (2011), Graduate Assistant (2012-2014), Football Operations Assistant (2015) ...... so he was there with Narduzzi several years.
- Valparaiso University (FCS, IAA) - LB/ST coach (2016)
- Ohio Dominican (DII, same division as IUP, Slippery Rock, etc.) - DC (2017-2018)
- Bucknell (FCS, IAA) - DC (2019)

Ryan has steadily risen in the coaching ranks but this is a pretty big step up ....... he has to do two things very well, recruit and coach ..... if he does both well, it will be a really good hire, if not, it won't ...... hoping for the former and looking forward to seeing how he does !
 
How is Manalac's hire a good one? Is there any evidence even anecdotal that he can coach well and/or recruit? Any?
 
How is Manalac's hire a good one? Is there any evidence even anecdotal that he can coach well and/or recruit? Any?
Have you ever had a young employee or co-worker you thought was very smart. worked very hard and looked promising, that you decided to mentor?
 
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Have you ever had a young employee or co-worker that you thought was very smart. worked very hard and looked promising, that you decided to mentor?

Sure, but I am also aware of employees who were hired because the person was perceived as someone who would do what he was told, not rock the boat, play it safe, work for less money than the more capable other candidate, or because the employee spoke with the same accent as the person doing the hiring. By the way, which of those worthy characteristics you mention is supported by "even anecdotal evidence" that Manalac can coach well or is an effective recruiter?
 
Sure, but I am also aware of employees who were hired because the person was perceived as someone who would do what he was told, not rock the boat, play it safe, work for less money than the more capable other candidate, or because the employee spoke with the same accent as the person doing the hiring. By the way, which of those worthy characteristics you mention is supported by "even anecdotal evidence" that Manalac can coach well or is an effective recruiter?
I believe he worked with Narduzzi. That should have given some indication of his ability to coach.

At the time of his work with Narduzzi, he was not permitted to truly recruit.

His positions following that can give no indication of his ability or inability to recruit on this level.
 
Sure, but I am also aware of employees who were hired because the person was perceived as someone who would do what he was told, not rock the boat, play it safe, work for less money than the more capable other candidate, or because the employee spoke with the same accent as the person doing the hiring. By the way, which of those worthy characteristics you mention is supported by "even anecdotal evidence" that Manalac can coach well or is an effective recruiter?

Can you even name the last three LB Coaches at Pitt? Harley had 1 season at FIU and was a former GA under Narduzzi at MSU. Haering was a high school coach. Without Google I have no idea who held that role under Graham. Relax.
 
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Can you even name the last three LB Coaches at Pitt? Harley had 1 season at FIU and was a former GA under Narduzzi at MSU. Haering was a high school coach. Without Google I have no idea who held that role under Graham. Relax.

in other words,”no” we have no idea whatsoever if Manalak is a good choice or not.
 
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